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By Owen Fender

For the Clemmons Courier

To readers residing within the village of Clemmons, it’s time to let those lights shine bright this holiday season because the village is hosting a “Light up the Village” holiday decoration contest.

The contest will feature four categories, and the winner of each category will receive a gift card and a yard sign, as well as having their decorations displayed on the village of Clemmons’s social media accounts.

Participants in the “traditional” category will compete for the best conventional Christmas decorations, while there is a separate “business” category for businesses to compete with one another.

Participants can also enter into the “People’s Choice Award” category, the winner of which will be decided by whichever photo receives the most likes on social media. People can vote for this award in a designated album on the “Clemmons Wonderland” Facebook page. The fourth award featured will be the “Griswold Award,” inspired by the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” which will go to the participant who can effectively display the most lights, so don’t leave any lights in storage this Christmas.

The village of Clemmons staff hope this event will spark a sense of community and promote a small-town feel.

“We want to be able to give everyone a list of homes that do a good job decorating so they can form their own driving tour,” said Mrs. Lynette Fox, an events coordinator for the Village of Clemmons.

Fox is encouraging local businesses to join the contest, believing it could help them take advantage of the increased customer traffic during the Tanglewood Festival of Lights.

Businesses and residents within the village boundaries interested in participating must have their decorations displayed and register to enter the contest on the village of Clemmons website no later than Dec. 16, as voting for the “People’s Choice Award” will begin on Dec. 17. One important note for interested contestants is only decorations visible from outside the home will be considered. So, only outdoor lighting and window displays will be evaluated.